Bishop of the Abyss

第165章 165.重磅交易：联盟颤抖；热火被迫孤独1掷！（2合1章章）

Chapter 165 165. Blockbuster deal: The alliance trembles; the Heat are forced to make a single throw! (two chapters in one)

"Lu, the Kings are now determined and unwilling to let go, asking us to take out the first-round pick we got from the 76ers."

"The king knows that he has no hope of winning the championship in the past two seasons, and we are actively seeking a deal. This clearly wants to seek some benefits."

The general manager McHale walked into Luke's office in a hurry, took a sip of the tea on the table, and then spoke hastily.

For Luke to exchange Bynum for Iguodala + first-round picks, McHale unconditionally supports Luke.

Because Luke had told McHale a lot about his thoughts before, and McHale knew that Luke was paving the way for the new season.

In addition, Luke's draft vision also admired McHale. McHale knew the value of a first-round pick in Luke's hands.

Now that Iverson and the 76ers management are in trouble, it is only a matter of time before the two sides part ways.

Even if the 76ers can use Iverson in exchange for some assets, the 76ers who lack star leadership are bound to fall into a downturn in a short period of time, and the chances of the team making the playoffs are extremely slim.

Therefore, the 76ers' first-round pick is likely to be a lottery, and at worst it can reach the middle of the first round. Compared with the Timberwolves' first-round pick, the 76ers' pick is undoubtedly more attractive.

It was precisely because of this that the Kings were reluctant to make a deal with the Timberwolves.

The king is very clear that he has absolutely no chance of winning the championship in the past two years, but on the other hand, the Timberwolves are about to establish a dynasty, and their reinforcements are far more important than the king. No matter how long this kind of thing drags on, it will only be the Timberwolves who are anxious.

The current general manager of the Kings is Pete, a cunning fox who has no great wisdom but is constantly clever.

Pete now just wants to seize the opportunity to take a good look at the Timberwolves. After all, the King's poor team record makes Pete's position as general manager unstable. Pete is determined to taste the sweetness of the deal with the Timberwolves.

"It took two days to promise the king. I don't have much expectations for next year's draft. In my opinion, there is not much difference between the team's one and the 76 one."

"However, the king actually wanted to get some wool from the team. It seems that I have to give the king some surprises next season, otherwise I will be sorry for the king's attitude." Shaking his head indifferently, Luke looked like As if everything is under control.

"Actually, there is a sentence that I don't know if I should say it properly." McHale sat on the sofa and looked at Luke with a tangled expression.

Seeing McHale's hesitation to speak, Luke waved his hand casually: "Just say what you have to say."

"Lu, I know this deal will make the team stronger and increase the team's chances of winning the championship in terms of lineup and strength."

"But what I want to say is whether it is too risky. That guy is a time bomb. I am afraid that his arrival will affect the atmosphere in the locker room and make the team worse." McHale looked slightly worried. Luke.

"Don't worry, Kevin, the last thing I'm afraid of is thorns." Luke smiled nonchalantly.

…………

On July 7, the defending champion Timberwolves reported another deal.

Unsurprisingly, the deal turned out to be related to the rumored king.

According to the official announcement of the Timberwolves, the team has officially reached a deal with the Kings. In this deal, the Timberwolves will take out Szczerbiak + the 76ers' first-round pick in 07 + a special case of $200 million in exchange for the Kings star Ronaldo. En Artest.

The birth of this deal made other championship teams in the league not calm immediately.

If it is said that the trade of Bynum for Iguodala was worth paying attention to in the eyes of other teams, then the birth of this trade is equivalent to causing an earthquake in the league.

Although the Timberwolves paid a very valuable bargaining chip in this deal, in addition to the core player Szczerbiak, there is also the first-round pick just obtained from the 76ers, a pick with an 80% chance of entering the lottery .

But relatively speaking, the benefits of the Timberwolves are also immeasurable, and even make other championship teams in the league tremble.

It goes without saying who Artest is. As the first player in NBA history to be selected as a small forward in DPOY, Artest's defensive ability is not too much to say that he is among the top five in history.

After all, apart from Artest, no small forward has ever been elected as the best defensive player in NBA history.

Artest's single-defense ability is extremely good. On the defensive end, he can face any outside star in the league. Whether it is Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, Artest will give the opponent a headache.

And although the muscular Artest looks a bit cumbersome, Artest's defensive ability is also top-notch in history.

To put it simply, whether Artest is single-defense or assisted defense, there is a ceiling for small forwards. Apart from being unable to control his emotions and being easily irritated by others, and often making some harmful moves, Artest's defense is useless. Can be picky.

上个赛季阿泰被交易到国王后场均能够贡献16.9分5.2篮板4.2助攻2抢断以及0.8次封盖，其中场均犯规控制在三次左右，照生涯前期明显好上很多。

And Artest was selected to the best defensive team last season, and he is still one of the best defensive players in the league today.

If it weren't for Garnett and Ben Wallace's two defensive monsters who are too strong, Artest is very likely to win DPOY for the second time in his career and have a second spring in the Kings.

It's a pity that Artest's flammable and explosive personality seriously delayed his career development, which is why Artest never received tens of millions of annual salary in his career.

Although Artest's personal ability can be recognized by the entire league, Artest, who often loses control for no reason, is like a time bomb, which makes every team have to consider more issues before signing Artest.

As a fighting beast on the court, Artest has outstanding strength, speed, stealing ability and first-class defensive skills.

And on the court, it is the greatest pleasure to freeze the opponent's leading scorer.

But Artest's violent behavior and mental problems seriously lowered Artest's worth.

After all, when Artest's brain twitched, he didn't just fight with the players, even the coach Artest would not be afraid at all.

In the game against the Heat in [-], Artest had two disputes with Heat coach Pat Riley, and finally scuffled each other.

In addition, Artest also fought with Rockets player Posey in front of former US President Clinton at an NBA union player gathering, completely ignoring the impact and consequences.

Artest, who was blowing the wind, was like a beast that lost his mind. Except for Ben Wallace, few players in the league could cure Artest of his illness.

Especially during his time with the Pacers, Artest verbally threatened coach Carlisle more than once, and these things were all reported after Artest was traded to the Kings.

That's why McHale was worried about this deal at the beginning, worried that Artest's arrival would affect the atmosphere in the team's locker room, causing the team to become worse next season.

But Luke is not worried about this at all. Luke has learned too many thorns in his coaching career, and the Timberwolves' thorns are already high enough. Luke doesn't mind adding Artest at all.

What's more, for Artest, Luke also specially reserved for him, guaranteeing that Artest will become submissive during his time with the Timberwolves, at least get along well with his teammates, and only wave his fists to outsiders .

After ushering in Artest, the Minnesota's forward defense will once again usher in an upgrade, and Artest's offensive ability is also much more comprehensive than Gerald Wallace.

After all, in his peak season, Artest averaged 24.6 points per game, and his 41% three-point shooting from the outside seemed incompatible with the word "beast".

In fact, although Artest looks like a reckless man from the outside, Artest's career three-point shooting rate reached 34%, which is barely a comprehensive offensive striker.

It's just that compared with the defense contributed by Artest, Artest's offense is not up to the first-class level, and he can be regarded as a second-rate star at best.

Artest's scoring methods are a little pale. Apart from his stable mid-range shots and three-pointers, his best cut into the penalty area lacks change.

Often rely on the high-intensity advantage of physical confrontation to suppress the opponent's position to obtain layup or dunk opportunities, and the skill and timing of shots are poor.

Fortunately, Luke is interested in Artest's defense. On the offensive end, Artest only needs to maintain a regular level and Luke is satisfied.

With Artest's current defensive ability, if Artest is still very strong on the offensive end and has no mental problems, then Artest is definitely the hottest star in the league, and the Timberwolves will definitely not be able to swallow this contract.

So in a sense, the Timberwolves' ability to trade for Artest can be regarded as a kind of loophole.

Even if the first-round lottery pick is extremely valuable, but at the juncture of the team's three-peat championship, the immediate combat power that Artest can contribute will be far greater than the future.

…………

The time came to the end of July, and the deal between the Timberwolves and the Kings has been talked about until now.

Although Artest can't be called the top star in the league, he is one of the best defensive stars in the league today.

If it weren't for joining the defending champion Timberwolves, not many people would care about Artest's whereabouts at all, but Artest joined the Timberwolves, who have won the championship for two consecutive years, which caused a headache for other teams in the league.

The Timberwolves played a season with extremely high defensive efficiency last season and are known as the team with the strongest overall defense in NBA history.

In the new season, the Timberwolves have an extra "beast" Artest when all the main defensive players stay on the team. This makes people doubt the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency next season, and which team can break through There was a heated discussion on the Timberwolves defense.

Now that the Timberwolves' lineup for the new season is getting more and more complete, there is only one player missing at the center position. All teams in the league are waiting to see what kind of reinforcement the Timberwolves will make to the final center position.

After all, after "Alien" Kassel, Magloire, and Nehbar left the team, the Timberwolves made a lot of salary space on "Penny" Hardaway through buyouts.

At present, the Timberwolves have a very wide salary space, and they will definitely do something in the free field. Although it is a bit difficult to provide a maximum salary, it is more than enough to recruit a star with the name of the defending champion.

I just don't know which star the Timberwolves will sign with the last spot.

With the team negotiating a 1+1 contract with Ariza and re-signing the next basic salary with "Penny" Hardaway, the Timberwolves have only the last spot left on the 15-man roster.

There must be a lot of inside players who want to try this position. After all, the Timberwolves not only have a wide salary space this year, but also can offer a lucrative signing contract.

After joining the Timberwolves, there is still a great chance of winning the championship ring, thereby increasing his historical status and his worth after testing the free market again.

Compared with the temptations and verbal promises of joining other teams, the benefits of joining the Timberwolves are all visible to the naked eye, no matter which one is enough to make players feel crazy.

According to gossip, even "Shark" O'Neal, who has missed the championship for two consecutive years, is determined to discuss a buyout with the team, and wants to end the contract early and join hands with the Timberwolves to establish a dynasty.

However, in the summer of [-], O'Neal just signed a huge contract of [-] million for five years with the Heat, even if it is a free buyout, it will only cause mutual damage.

As a result, O'Neal lost $8000 million in salary for nothing, and the Heat did not have enough time to recruit stars, and they are likely to slump and fall to the bottom of the league in one fell swoop.

After the news came out, O'Neal immediately came forward to explain, saying that he would not reach a buyout with the Heat, and would continue to stay in Miami in the new season to attack the championship.

After the Heat lost in the Eastern Conference finals last season, although there was news of O'Neal's discord with the management, the five-year, [-] million contract not only restricted O'Neal, but also restricted the Heat.

Now the Heat can only strengthen the team at all costs, build a team around Wade and O'Neal, and strive to grab a championship from the Timberwolves before O'Neal completely enters the end of his career.

After all, O'Neal couldn't leave the team even if he was dissatisfied because of the contract constraints, and this contract also made it difficult for the Heat to reach a deal.

So no matter how many conflicts there are between the two sides, Riley and O'Neal can only fight side by side and try their best to make the team more competitive.

It is said that the Heat are negotiating a deal with the Knicks during the offseason, hoping to get Marbury from the Knicks through a deal, form a Big Three lineup with Wade and O'Neal, and break their wrists with the mighty Timberwolves.

Last season, Marbury averaged 16.3 points, 3 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Although his personal data has been declining, Marbury is still one of the best offensive point guards in the league today.

In addition, the Knicks' record has been a mess in recent years, and they have been ranked at the bottom of the Eastern Conference all the year round, so as long as the Heat are willing to overdraw the future, there will be a great chance that this deal can be facilitated.

At that time, the Heat, which is sitting on the Big Three, will fully have the strength to challenge the Timberwolves as long as they reinforce the corners.

Otherwise, O'Neal's five-year contract of [-] million will not tightly lock up the Heat's salary space, and the two sides will be in an embarrassing situation of wasting each other's time.

The Heat are wasting O'Neal's few remaining peaks, and O'Neal is wasting the Heat's training environment. If they don't attack the championship, both sides will become victims.

In addition, the Heat are still flirting with Timberwolves veteran Salmons in the free market, intending to use the little salary space left to win over Salmons and complete the reinforcement of the team's last weak front line.

After leaving the Timberwolves, Salmons was able to score 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals last season.

And according to Weber's agent, veteran Chris Webber hopes to join the Timberwolves with a veteran's basic salary in the offseason, and join forces with the Timberwolves to attack the championship.

If joining the Timberwolves is hopeless, Chris Webber will give priority to the Heat, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Spurs and Pistons and other favorites to win the championship.

It is foreseeable that if the Heat can complete these reinforcement operations during the offseason, the Heat next season will be the biggest obstacle for the Timberwolves to win the championship.

　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, thank you, third child!

(End of this chapter)